Andrii Pidlisnyi has fought nearly every year for the Ukrainian Armed Forces dating back to 2014, telling Military.com that he believes the outcome of the current iteration of the war against Russia will echo previous military conflicts while hoping that the United States will stay by Ukraine’s side.
Pidlisnyi spoke to Military.com from Ukraine about his service, why he continues to fight in a lengthy war that has become a stalemate, how he’s sacrificed precious time away from his family, and what the United States’ role should be in helping further deter Russian aggression.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, instantly prompting global concerns of a military conflict perceived to proceed with the potential to involve most or all major nations in a World War III-type scenario. Global oil costs skyrocketed, countless lives were lost, and worldwide allies like those within NATO held their own objections about what to do and how many resources should be utilized.
The ongoing war, viewed by many policy analysts as a continuation of Russia’s aggression in Crimea launched in 2014, was once the main daily story in many publications. Today, with another war in the Middle East amid other concerns and disputes involving world powers, the Russia-Ukraine battle forges on—but in the background, where a few like Pidlisnyi continue to risk their lives.
How His Military Life Began
Pidlisnyi, 32, is originally from Vinnytsia but was living in Kyiv during the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
He is currently the head of a department within an Army Corps of the Armed Forces, stating he could not disclose the specific name of the department or corps. He holds the rank of lieutenant colonel and has been serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine since September 2014, starting his service as a private.
He told Military.com that he had a brief hiatus from military service between July 2021 and February 2022, leaving the army in July 2021 upon the expiration of his contract.
“I had no desire to renew it due to the stagnation that had set in within the combat zone at the time—specifically, ceasefire regimes, a ban on digging trenches facing the enemy, and withdrawals from certain positions in the Donetsk region,” he said. “However, I returned to the Armed Forces on Feb. 24, 2022—the very first day of the full-scale war.”
Advantages, Disadvantages Held by Russia and Ukraine
From the perspective of his own nation and side in the war, Pidlisnyi said he believes the biggest thing the Ukrainian Army has learned over the years is a three-pronged effort involving quick battlefield decisions, the need to move away from bureaucratic procedures, and the transfer of some human responsibilities to artificial intelligence or technologies like Ukraine’s DELTA system that utilizes cloud-based tools.
The search for new, inexpensive solutions that will allow Ukrainians to more effectively destroy the enemy is also significant, he added, considering that Russia dominates its adversary in both money and population.
“The only thing that saves us is technology, although it has the opposite effect over time,” he said. “Six months after we introduce something new on the battlefield, the Russians adopt it from us and scale it up in greater numbers than we do.
“Therefore, in addition to action, we need to immediately implement counteraction in advance. With bureaucracy and freedom of decision-making starting from the battalion commander level, not everything is smooth yet. In some places it works, in some places it doesn’t. And unfortunately, the paper army still exists for now.”
The biggest challenge for the Russians, he said, is their ability to mobilize countless human resources, disregarding both losses and the opinions of the citizens themselves. That is because Russia “has no regard for the will of the people,” Pidlisnyi said.
He also mentioned the Russians’ rapid adaptability on the battlefield and the scaling of the technologies they borrow from Ukraine. They also work well to modernize what they already possess if the effectiveness decreases, using Shahed drones as an example.
How the United States’ Position Impacts Global Posturing
Pidlisnyi, stressing that it’s just his own perspective, said there is a “significant shortage” of maneuverable, wheeled, light armored vehicles at the battalion-brigade level through Eastern Ukraine.
Currently, there is a high level of activity from FPV [first-person view] drones, with most of the route still having to be covered on foot. However, soldiers reach the dismounting point by vehicles—which are often ordinary pickup trucks, sometimes purchased at their own expense.
The second thing he believes is necessary is standardized ammunition for both FPV drones and Mavic drops.
“A clear nomenclature for such ammunition needs to be developed—separately for combating vehicles, separately for manpower, and separately for enemy shelters—because currently this ammunition is partially handmade,” he said. “The third thing that is needed is good anti-tank and anti-personnel mines with remote deployment that react to movement or metal. This will significantly increase the enemy’s losses on the battlefield.”
But Pidlisnyi is acutely aware of the challenges in getting everything he or other soldiers want. It takes time and, more importantly, money. The last major appropriation package the U.S. approved for Ukraine was in April 2024, to the tune of $61 billion.
When aid from countries like the U.S. decreases, it can put militaries in a bind for the long term. Aid noticably fractured following the election of President Donald Trump and a full GOP majority in Congress.
“I believe (I cannot speak for everyone) that the United States as a whole supports Ukrainians, including the Congress,” he said. “Of course, I would like this support to materialize in actual support with equipment and resources, because now, according to [President Donald] Trump, the United States is selling, not helping.
“It’s not very pleasant to feel like the ones who have to prove that they are the defending party, the one on whose side the truth is. It is especially unpleasant to prove this to a country that positions itself as our ally, a world judge, and a bearer of justice.”
When asked about his own president, Volodymyr Zelensky, Pidlisnyi said, ‘Like any person, [he] has both good and bad sides.”
“I am not a fan of Zelensky, but he was elected by the citizens of our country, he added. “Therefore, I do not see the need to criticize him in the international community during the war.”
‘Very Tired’ and Yearning to Return to Pregnant Wife
Fighting against Russia for roughly a decade has countless impacts on a soldier, notably for those yearning to reconnect with their loved ones.
Pidlisnyi’s case is no different. He told Military.com he is “very tired morally.” He got married in 2023 in Kherson, and his wife is currently pregnant.
“Naturally, she wants us to be together, since we’ve never lived as a family—never even had a single year together,” he said. “At the same time, she supports my decision to defend our homeland.
“I would love to raise our future child together; I don’t want to see my daughter only once every six months, watching her grow up without recognizing her dad. But for now, this is the reality we face.”
Throughout his 11 years in uniform, he has gone from being a soldier to a lieutenant colonel. Issues that have most hurt his motivation to endure have included what he described as internal bureaucracy, partly due to low-quality personnel in leadership positions, and corruption, which occurs both in the army and in government bodies and is constantly broadcast in the media.
“Instead, military commanders are often removed from their positions for lost territories or even arrested, although everyone understands perfectly well that the main reason is the lack of people or the low quality of those who are mobilized,” he said.
What keeps him in the army is his “inner self, which consists of conscience and a sense of duty to this country.” Victories on the battlefield and off, such as increasing morale, remain paramount. That has led to a greater confidence in the present, as opposed to Ukraine’s position in 2024 when Russia seized larger territories than it recently has.
It’s anybody’s guess how the war ultimately ends, if it does at all. Pidlisnyi has his own theory.
“I think there will be an analogue of the 2014-2022 war, when the front became almost static,” he said. “But there will be neither an end to the war nor an active phase. I think it will be in two-three years.
“Russia cannot completely end the war because it is a blow to its reputation and a risk of internal discontent, which may arise due to the fact that the Russian president will no longer be able to blame us for everything. Also, because their military will return home and tell [citizens] what the war really is.”
He said “a positive scenario” emanating from all this is “an Azerbaijan-Armenia scenario” in 10 or 20 years.
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